Lawrence Summers ... told a conference of economists in Washington on Tuesday
that President Obama would probably start addressing the needs of Social
Security before the end of his term.

“Over the course of the president’s term, the president will, I am confident,
address Social Security,” Mr. Summers said in a response to a question at a
conference of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Mr. Summers said the top priority in overhauling Social Security would be to
make sure that people could rely on their benefits. ... Mr. Summers seemed
intent on signaling that Mr. Obama’s idea of “reform” would be to strengthen the
program rather rather than to partly privatize it.

But Mr. Summers said the big cost problems for the government are in health
care. Reducing the growth of Medicare costs by just a few tenths of a percent
per year, he said, would over a period of decades save enough money to fill the
projected shortfall for Social Security. ...

Why announce this now? Will 'cut health care costs to save Social Security' work as a message?

Lawrence Summers ... told a conference of economists in Washington on Tuesday
that President Obama would probably start addressing the needs of Social
Security before the end of his term.

“Over the course of the president’s term, the president will, I am confident,
address Social Security,” Mr. Summers said in a response to a question at a
conference of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Mr. Summers said the top priority in overhauling Social Security would be to
make sure that people could rely on their benefits. ... Mr. Summers seemed
intent on signaling that Mr. Obama’s idea of “reform” would be to strengthen the
program rather rather than to partly privatize it.

But Mr. Summers said the big cost problems for the government are in health
care. Reducing the growth of Medicare costs by just a few tenths of a percent
per year, he said, would over a period of decades save enough money to fill the
projected shortfall for Social Security. ...

Why announce this now? Will 'cut health care costs to save Social Security' work as a message?